Miami-Dade Offering Assistance Programs for First-Time Home-Buyers

• Author: Bennie West
• Posted: 2024-04-02

The United States is in the middle of one of the largest housing shortages in history, and the highest home prices ever recorded. This means that even middle class families are having issues finding houses. Insofar as they can qualify for mortgages and find a home, what they usually find are bidding wars, and they end up priced out of the market by rich people or some large multinational corporation that's legally allowed to come in and snatch these properties up.

Some states have been hit a lot harder than others, like Florida. In Florida right now, there are tens of thousands of people looking for homes, many of whom are looking to buy their first home ever. The issue, of course, is that they simply cannot afford to buy. In Miami-Dade, government officials are doing something about this problem by offering supplemental assistance through a rental program for first-time home-buyers.

The local government of Miami-Dade is working along with various bank financial resource programs in the area to make this assistance package available for residents of the county who are considered below the poverty line. The program is simple enough on its face. Miami-Dade will temporarily pay upwards of $3,000 every month to help qualifying people catch up on their current rent payments. After which point the current rent is up to date, these funds can be rolled over and help pay the difference on a higher rent (for rental homes) or for mortgages in instances where the home-buyer qualifies for a loan and can find a home.

The main stipulation here is that the new payment amount per month cannot be higher than 20% above the previous rent. So, for instance, if a resident was paying $1,500 per month, their new rent or mortgage can be covered up to $1,800 but no more than that.

The idea here isn't to limit housing choice for Miami-Dade residents; it's so landlords in the area don't view this program as a chance to turn on the money faucet. Far too often in America, when landlords hear that the government will cover rent, they'll drastically increase the rental rates, knowing that it's free money. Almost every sort of business has a nasty habit of doing this. It's not just in real estate. In regular businesses, like butcher shops, they start out offering low prices to build a customer base. O

nce they start accepting SNAP benefits, however, they drastically increase the prices knowing that most people with government money will still spend it, as they consider it free. Miami-Dade is trying hard to avoid the greed of landlords ruining a program that's meant to help get more money into their first home.

If any resident has an income of 80% lower than the county's median yearly income, they can qualify for this program. This includes individuals and families. Since this is a brand new program that has only been announced and not launched as of yet, details are very slim on just how many families can potentially find assistance in Miami-Dade. Though the way officials are speaking about this program, it may end up being large enough to cover thousands of families.

 

Federal Initiatives are a Rare Bird

Unfortunately for the millions of Americans struggling in the housing market, and all the people who cannot afford to become first-time home-buyers, these sorts of programs are only ever based locally. The federal government, while it controls the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), has pretty much given up on low income federal assistance, except for Section 8.

There was a time when the government offered a lot of different programs to help people get into homes, and they would even urge mortgage lenders to loosen the reins a bit. But ever since large corporations started lobbying the government to control policy, you will rarely find any sort of policy that's actually beneficial to regular Americans. Your average American cannot afford a home, much less a suitcase full of money to compel a politician to pass favorable laws.

Until which point the federal government prioritizes its actual citizens over large corporations and foreign nations, you will have to look to the local government for any sort of housing programs. If you're outside of the Miami-Dade area, keep your eyes peeled for local initiatives to help first-time home-buyers. A lot of these programs are available but aren't advertised very broadly, because the government doesn't want landlords spiking the rental rates.